


Felicity Versus The Alias

by Girlwithsixsmiles



Series: Felicity Versus [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Chuck (TV)
Genre: Aliases, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, F/M, Shameless reference to Alias, Spies & Secret Agents, Vertigo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-07
Updated: 2014-01-07
Packaged: 2018-01-07 20:25:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1124017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Girlwithsixsmiles/pseuds/Girlwithsixsmiles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s time for a night out at the club! While everyone else thinks they’re out on a date, Felicity and Oliver are on their first mission together—-tracking down information on Vertigo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Felicity Versus The Alias

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to humansrsuperior, chasethewind, thecoolcheryl, and macyaudenstar for betaing!

“This looks ridiculous,” Felicity grumbled. She was standing in front of the mirror in her room, assessing the results of Thea’s “makeover.” Her hair had cascading waves due to Thea’s insistence on using a curling iron, despite Felicity’s protests. Her glasses were replaced by smoky eye shadow and rarely-worn contacts, which were already starting to dry her eyes out. The pièce de résistance was of course the dress Thea insisted she wear. The hem was shorter than Felicity was comfortable with, plus it was a halter top. She didn’t exactly have the right proportions to pull that look off. And don’t get her started on the heels…

“You’re going to the club, right? You gotta look hot.” Thea walked in a circle around Felicity, assessing her from every angle. “If this doesn’t make Oliver want to jump your bones, then I don’t know what will. That color looks fabulous on you!” Felicity’s dress was a deep emerald, overlaid with black lace.

“Is it really necessary for it to be this tight? I think my internal organs are shifting.”

“It’s like you’re not even trying,” Thea moaned. 

As far as Thea knew, Felicity and Oliver were just having a date at the nightclub. In reality, they, along with Diggle, were at the club to find leads on a new drug permeating the landscape---Vertigo. As General Steele mentioned, this wasn’t normally CIA or NSA territory, but there was potentially information stored in the intersect that could help get this violent drug off the streets. That’s where Felicity came in.

This was the first time that she was going on a mission with the boys out in the field. Since the powers that be were still trying to work out the kinks with how the intersect worked, the mission was purely to gather intelligence, to see if Felicity was able to flash on anything. General Steele had specifically instructed them not to engage with any potential threat.

Earlier that day, Oliver and Diggle had tried to give her the expedited version of field training. She and Diggle still had to work at the Buy More, so they met in the home theater room, the only place where they could talk without fear of being overheard. Obviously, with it being an intelligence operation, there was no need for combat training; rather, Diggle and Oliver were instructing her on how to act in the field.

“It’s all about the art of being subtle,” Diggle said.

Oliver snorted. “Felicity’s already got that covered. As I recall, she’s an expert in peoplewatching.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. “You KNOW I said that when I was still under the misguided notion that we were actually on a date.”

“Moving on,” Diggle said, shaking his head. “You’ll need to be hyperaware of your surroundings---whether it’s fellow club attendees, staff, a flyer posted on the bathroom wall, whatever. Anything could be a trigger for you, something that connects information from the database to Vertigo.”

A tinny voice sounded from the loudspeaker. “John, please report to digital cameras. John to digital cameras.”

“Can you finish this solo, Queen?” Diggle stood up from the theater recliner he had been perched on. 

“Go get your commission,” Oliver said to Diggle’s retreating back.

Diggle responded with a one-finger salute behind his back.

“What’s the deal with you two anyway?” Felicity asked. “It’s not hard to sense the hostility there.”

Oliver scratched the back of his neck. “There’s always been some tension between the agencies.”

“This seems a little more personal.”

“We’ve crossed paths before.”

After a considerable silence, Felicity concluded that Oliver had nothing further to say on the subject.

“What else do I need to know about the mission?” 

“Well, General Steele already briefed you on how dangerous Vertigo is. As little as we know about it, the one thing we do know is that many of its users haven’t made it through the night.”

“Look, but don’t touch. Got it.”

“We also need to come up with a cover identity for you to use in the field. We don’t want anyone learning your true identity.”

“Do you really think I need it? I’m sure no one will believe a computer repair technician making $11 an hour is working with spies.”

“This isn’t about plausibility. This is about keeping your family safe. So you need to come up with an alias.”

“I’m no Sydney Bristow.” Oliver gave her a blank look. “Jennifer Garner? Kickass CIA agent? Ugh, never mind.”

“You don’t want to stray too far from the truth. Keep things simple, easy to remember.”

“So you’re saying my cover shouldn’t be a cosmopolitan heiress?” Felicity joked.

“Exactly. Go with something you know. Like what would you be doing if you got your degree at MIT?”

“I’d be working in development somewhere in Silicon Valley, somewhere like Lucky Strike Industries.”

“Okay, good. Go with that. Now, as far as your name goes, it should be something similar to your name. It should be something that you’ll answer to, maybe a variation of your name or a middle name.”

“Felicia. Felicia Fitzgerald.” Felicity could see Oliver’s lips twitching trying to hold back a grin. “Not that I’ve thought about it or anything. It was just my ‘movie star’ name in my childhood fantasies. Will that work?”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Fitzgerald.” The grin had taken over his face.

“What? It sounds sophisticated!”

Looking at herself now in the mirror, she definitely looked more like Felicia Fitzgerald than Felicity Smoak. She could almost believe that she was a successful young professional going out for a night on the town. Almost.

Seeing the time on her phone, she quickly grabbed the clutch bag Thea had lent her. “Oliver’s going to be here any minute.”

“Who are you and what have you done with my sister?” Tommy asked as the girls entered the living room.

“Gee thanks, Tommy. Way to make a girl feel special.”

Laurel looked up from her piles of paperwork on the coffee table. “I think what your brother is trying to say---”

“Is that you look absolutely stunning,” Tommy finished.

“Nice save,” Thea remarked.

“It’s true. You look incredible, Felicity. The kind of incredible that makes fathers want to lock their teenage daughters in their room for all of eternity.”

“Thanks… I think.”

Felicity was thankfully saved from saying anything else when the doorbell rang.

Tommy beat her to the door, answering it before she could make a quick getaway.

“Oliver! Good to see you again.”

“Tommy, it’s good to see you as well.” Oliver stood at the door in a dark suit, with a white dress shirt open at the collar. He craned his neck to see past Tommy, finding Felicity with his gaze. His eyes widened and a smile appeared on his lips. “Felicity, you look… wow.”

Thea leaned in to Felicity, whispering, “Told you.”

“Oliver, we should probably get going,” Felicity said, moving towards the door.

“But,” Tommy protested, slipping his phone out of his pocket. “I wanted to---”

“No!” Felicity cut him off. “This is not the prom, Tommy. We don’t need a photo shoot.”

“One picture couldn’t hurt,” Oliver said, putting his arm around her waist.

“Seriously?” Felicity whispered, pinning Oliver with a skeptical look.

“We need photos showing us as a couple,” Oliver whispered into her ear as he turned her around to face Tommy.

“What, for your scrapbook?” Felicity muttered under her breath.

Oliver responded by holding her waist firmly as they posed for Tommy’s photo.

“Okay, we really should be going now.” Felicity grabbed Oliver’s hand, ready to drag him out the door if need be.

“Have fun!” Awesome called from the couch.

“Before you go, Oliver, any chance you’d want to come watch the game this weekend? The playoffs are starting.”

“TOMMYYYYYY….” Felicity protested.

“Sure man, that’d be great. But I think this one is anxious to get going,” Oliver said, looking down at Felicity.

“Don’t wait up!” Felicity said as she pulled Oliver out the door.

Once they were safely outside, Felicity turned around, poking Oliver in the chest with her finger. “You need to stop encouraging Tommy. I mean, what the hell was that?”

“What? I’m bonding with my girlfriend’s brother,” Oliver said with an easy grin.

“No, I think you enjoy torturing me a little too much.”

“Relax. It’s good for our cover if I get along with your family.”

“Whatever. Let’s just get this night over with,” Felicity said, stalking off to the car. It wasn’t easy for her to compartmentalize this fake relationship like it was for a trained agent like Oliver. She had to keep reminding herself that each touch, each look was not truly sincere, just an act for those watching.

“Trouble in paradise?” Diggle waited on the curb outside a town car. He was playing the role of driver for the evening, but would be providing comms support to Oliver and Felicity while they were inside the club. 

“It’s nothing,” Felicity replied. “Can we get going?”

Oliver spent the ride to the club fitting Felicity with her earpiece.

“Ooh, it tickles!” Felicity exclaimed after Oliver touched a sensitive spot on her ear. “Are you sure we’re going to be able to hear through this thing when we’re surrounded by club music?”

“I could hear crystal clear even while standing next to a chopper,” Diggle remarked from the front seat.

Diggle soon pulled up to the curb of Poison, the new hotspot on the outskirts of Starling City. A line stretched down the sidewalk, full of people who had yet to get inside.

“Oliver, we’re not going to be able to get in.”

He took her hand as they exited the car. “You’re not the only one who can do a little hacking,” he said as he walked purposefully toward the bouncer. “Oliver Queen and Felicia Fitzgerald,” he announced to the bulky man holding the clipboard.

The man’s eyes quickly scanned his list. “Thanks for joining us tonight, Mr. Queen,” he said, waving them on through.

“That’s the first and last time I’m going to be on some club’s list,” Felicity snorted. “If only the people from high school could see me now…”

Oliver guided her onto the main floor with his hand on the small of her back. “Anywhere particular you’d like to start looking?”

Felicity scanned the room. The dance floor was already crowded due to the popular DJ and his insistence on playing bass heavy songs. A long bar counter stretched along the back of the room, while the VIP area was on a balcony overlooking the main floor.

“Let’s start at the bar. Bartenders always seem to know the inside scoop.”

Weaving their way through the crowd, they finally made their way up to the counter. It took a moment to get the bartender’s attention, but Felicity was finally able to wave him over.

“Do you have a wine list?” Felicity asked.

Before he could respond, Oliver held up two fingers. “Two club sodas, please.”

“So….no wine then?” Felicity said to Oliver while the bartender went about fixing their drinks.

“You need to have a clear head. We don’t know if alcohol will affect the intersect.”

“I hardly think a glass of wine will make me go haywire.”

“It doesn’t hurt to be careful.”

“Are you going to baby me like this forever?”

“If it keeps you safe, then yes, by all means.”

“Fantastic. Just what I wanted, a babysitter,” Felicity said, rolling her eyes.

The bartender returned with their glasses of club soda, but also had a colorful cocktail on his tray that he handed to Felicity. “The gentleman at the end of the bar purchased this on your behalf,” the bartender said, gesturing to a lanky man with shaggy brown hair.

Oliver looked insulted. “Does he not see me standing here?”

“He always likes to treat the beautiful women to a drink.”

“So you’re saying he’s a regular?” Felicity concluded.

“That’s Charlie. His brother Max is the owner of Poison,” the bartender divulged.

Felicity removed her drinks from the counter and went to take a sip of the cocktail. Oliver snatched it from her grip.

“That could be laced with Vertigo.”

“You think Charlie and the bartender are in cahoots? They wouldn’t be making any money if they’re putting Vertigo in free drinks. Besides, I’ll look rude if I don’t take a sip.” Oliver just shook his head, but kept the glass out of Felicity’s reach. 

“Charlie Fuller has a record,” Diggle said over the comms. “Might want to check him out.”

“I guess I’d better go thank Charlie for the drink then,” Felicity said, making her way to the end of the bar, Oliver hot on her heels.

“Remember, be subtle. Nothing drastic,” Oliver murmured in her ear.

Charlie Fuller quickly proved to be as slimy as his record indicated. He slid off his barstool once he saw Felicity approach, reaching for her hand and lifting it to his mouth. It took everything Felicity had to not outwardly cringe at this sleazeball kissing her hand. 

"Hello, gorgeous. It's so lovely of you to stop by tonight. It's a shame we haven't met sooner....?" Charlie trailed off, waiting for her to fill in the blank. 

"Felicia."

"Pretty name for a pretty girl. I'm Charlie."

"Well, Charlie," Felicity began, "as kind as it was of you to send me that drink, I, uh, well, I have a boyfriend." She turned and grabbed Oliver by the arm. "See?"

Charlie chuckled. "I do see that. I just think that women like you deserve to have the finer things in life."

"What, like you?" Oliver sputtered. 

Felicity sidestepped Oliver's irritation and decided to follow up on the opening Charlie provided her with. "What type of finer things are we talking about?"

"Whatever your heart desires, of course."

Felicity decided it was time to fully commit to this bit, regardless of what Oliver thought. They weren't going to get any information out of Charlie by being rude and irritable. She was going to turn up the charm. Sydney Bristow would do that to get information, right? She leaned forward, placing her hand on Charlie's forearm. "I'd like to have an extra special night here at Poison, if you know what I mean."

"I can certainly arrange a VIP table for you," Charlie replied. His gaze was focused on whatever semblance of cleavage that Thea was able to wrangle under the torture device also known as a halter dress. 

A trip to the VIP section was not what Felicity had implied, but perhaps Charlie was just being extra discreet. Maybe VIP came with some party favors of the Vertigo variety?

“That’s not exactly what I had in mind. I heard Poison was a good place to let loose.” Felicity was trying to clue him in to what she meant without using the word Vertigo. That would surely clue Charlie in to the fact that they had ulterior motives for coming to Poison.

“My place is right around the corner if you two want to head back there with me,” Charlie said, nodding his head towards Oliver. “I’m willing to share with him just this once.”

Felicity’s jaw dropped once she realized that Charlie thought she was interested in a threesome. Initially, she thought Charlie meant that he kept some sort of substance back at his place, but she was so dreadfully wrong. Distantly, she heard Diggle’s chuckle in her ear. It was clear now that Charlie was just an opportunistic sleazeball and had nothing to do with Vertigo. She knew she now needed to exit the situation, but for once, she couldn’t find any words to say.

“I don’t share,” Oliver said, grabbing her elbow and dragging her towards the dance floor, leaving Charlie in their wake.

“Sooooo…… I guess we can cross Charlie off our list?” Felicity said once she and Oliver had come to a stop.

“Unfortunately, being a creep is not illegal, so yes, he’s off the list.” Oliver was facing her now, his hands settling on her hips. “Let’s hold off on the questioning for now, okay? Just see if anything catches your eye here on the floor.”

Oliver started moving her hips to the beat of the music and Felicity was finding it hard to concentrate. The size of the crowd necessitated a move so that their bodies were closer together, almost flush against one another. Felicity just knew her cheeks would be burning red and didn’t have the courage to make eye contact with Oliver to see his reaction.

Instead, she spun around and started dancing with her back to Oliver. Maybe if she couldn’t see him, she could pay better attention to her fellow clubgoers. It was an admirable thought, but was quickly thrown out the window when Oliver’s hands reached around her midsection and pulled her in even closer.

She was not one of those girls you would find dirty dancing in the club. Really, the only time you could catch her dancing was when she was in her sweatpants, cleaning the apartment, having her own private dance party with her impromptu feather duster microphone. And that was only when she was certain she was home alone. If Tommy caught her mid-dance party, he would never let her live it down.

Dancing with Oliver, however, was an exquisite form of torture. The sudden heat on her skin from his touch made her feel as though she had been branded. She could feel herself stiffening, her back and neck growing rigid and she became more and more uncomfortable. He was oblivious to the effect he was having on her, continuing to move their bodies to the beat of whatever song was currently playing. She had tuned it out a while ago.

When Diggle’s voice came over the comms, she silently mouthed her relief, thrilled to have a reprieve. “You got anything yet, Smoak?”

“Nothing yet.”

Felicity started taking in the surroundings she had been neglecting since she and Oliver stepped onto the dance floor. The darkly lit atmosphere made it difficult to see, but the intermittent swirl of the spotlight provided some illumination. The dance floor was certainly crowded, but Felicity was on the lookout for something out of the ordinary, something that would get her to flash. She knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as witnessing a drug deal in the shadows of the club, because people weren’t that obvious, were they? She was clearly out of her element here, but she was going to try her best to get some results for General Steele.

By that point, Oliver had maneuvered her around so she was facing him again, hands resting on her hips. Still not ready to make eye contact, she placed her arms around his neck and continued to look around the club over his shoulder. There were plenty of other couples on the floor, not nearly as hesitant as Felicity, willingly grinding against each other, regardless of who was watching. Then there were the groups of friends living it up on the dance floor, not needing guys to have a good time. Felicity smiled at the memory of Thea starting a conga line at her 21st birthday.

Her gaze continued to search the room, finally stopping on a girl on the other side of the floor. At first glance, she appeared to be tipsy, already unsteady on her feet. But the dull stare in her eyes, combined with her sweaty, matted auburn hair caused Felicity to take a second look. The girl’s friends didn’t seem to notice her predicament; instead, they were trying to get the DJ’s attention. They still had drinks in their hands, but the redhead’s hands were empty. Felicity noticed something shimmering on the outside of the girl’s hand--a stamp. 

Removing her hands from Oliver’s neck, Felicity studied the backs of her own hands. They were blank.

“They didn’t stamp our hands on the way in, did they?” Felicity asked Oliver.

“No. Why?” Oliver asked, peering down at Felicity.

“I don’t know, I just noticed that girl over there looks pretty out of it.”

“Maybe she went to another club before she came here,” Oliver replied.

“There is another club around the corner,” Diggle chimed in.

“Maybe,” Felicity mused. “Something just seems off about her. And her friends aren’t even paying attention to her. What did you say the symptoms of Vertigo were again?”

Oliver looked over and assessed the girl, who was visibly pale, even in the dim lighting. “We don’t know much, but she doesn’t look good. Do you think it’s in her system?”

“Maybe. If we could get closer to her, maybe there’s something I can flash on.” 

“I can get you closer.” Oliver quickly grabbed her wrist and sent her into a twirl, expertly moving her towards that end of the floor. She was surprised at how gracefully she moved, or rather, how gracefully he moved her.

Now closer to the DJ’s booth, Felicity could clearly see the girl’s friends. She couldn’t see any markings on their hands.

“If she went to another club, her friends didn’t go with her. They don’t have stamps.”

“I just drove around the corner to the other club. I don’t see any hands getting stamped,” Diggle interjected.

“Are you sure it’s not a henna tattoo or something?” Oliver asked.

“No, it was definitely a stamp. I just can’t tell where it’s from. Spin me again.”

Oliver dutifully responded by spinning her closer to the girl. Felicity was finally within proximity of the girl’s hand, spotting the stamp of a shimmering gold spiral. Her mind suddenly flooded with case files and medical reports as she accessed the Intersect data. She was thankful that she wasn’t left with the stinging pain she had the first two times she flashed.

The case files alerted Felicity to the symbol used to indicate Vertigo, a tight spiral reminiscent of "The Twilight Zone." But it was the information from the medical report that sent her into action: the coroner could not find evidence that Vertigo was taken orally; it had been absorbed into the bloodstream some other way.

“Guys, the stamp IS the Vertigo.”

“What do you mean?” Diggle asked over the comms.

“I flashed on the different files the DEA had compiled. Vertigo is absorbed through the skin. But that means it’s already in her system. We need to get her out of here.”

As if on cue, the redhead chose that particular moment to collapse. The crowd parted, allowing Oliver to rush to her side, where he began to check her vitals. “Her pulse is faint, but it’s still there.”

“An ambulance is already on the way,” Diggle said, clearly having anticipated this result.

Oliver deftly scooped up the girl, carrying her towards the exit. Felicity noted with annoyance that it took Oliver’s arrival to finally get the attention of the girl’s friends. They quickly realized the bad shape she was in and followed Oliver and Felicity outside.

“What happened to her?” One of the friends, a brunette with long, stick-straight hair, asked Felicity.

“She passed out. Have you been with her all night?”

“Pretty much. Why?”

“I’m just trying to figure out when and where she got a dose of Vertigo,” Felicity snapped.

“Vertigo?!” The girl was clearly shocked. “Isn’t that what people have been OD-ing on?”

“Yeah, but hopefully we got to your friend in time.”

The group had made it outside, where the ambulance was thankfully pulling up. Oliver helped the paramedics place the girl on the gurney, explaining to them what had happened. The brunette friend quickly hopped into the back of the ambulance, ready to escort her friend to the hospital. The other girls went to hail a cab, which followed the ambulance as it left, sirens blaring.

With all the commotion, it took Felicity until now to realize it was much cooler now than it was when they first arrived. She shivered when a gust of cold air hit her exposed skin. She felt the weight of Oliver’s suit jacket as he draped it over her shoulders. 

“This seems to be a habit of yours,” Felicity remarked, drawing the jacket closer to her body. “Do you think she’s going to be okay?”

“I don’t know,” Oliver replied truthfully. “I hope we got to her in time.”

They made their way around the corner where Diggle was waiting with the car. 

“You did good, blondie,” Diggle said as Felicity slid into the backseat.

“Good? A girl is in the hospital.”

“But she’s not in a body bag. That’s more than what other people can say.”

“Plus, now we know how Vertigo is distributed,” Oliver added.

“But we don’t even know where she got it or who she got it from!”

“There’s a DEA agent at her bedside waiting for her to wake up so they can find out just that,” Diggle said as he pulled away from the curb.

“I know it doesn’t seem like it, but you made a difference tonight.” Oliver reached over and squeezed Felicity’s shoulder.

The ride back home was silent until Oliver suddenly leaned forward, grabbing the back of Diggle’s headrest. “Can you stop here for a second?”

Diggle obliged and Oliver got out of the car. He returned a few minutes later with a brown paper shopping bag.

“What was so important that you had to stop this late at night?” Felicity asked as Oliver slid in next to her.

“Just something I needed to get,” Oliver said with a smile. He kept the bag out of Felicity’s reach the rest of the way home, leaving her confused and irritated.

Once Diggle parked the car, Felicity scrambled out, not waiting for Oliver to accompany her. Diggle ducked into his own apartment as Oliver caught up to her in the courtyard, grabbing her wrist.

“Where are you going?”

“It’s been a long night…” Felicity trailed off as Diggle came back through his door holding red plastic cups.

“Will these work?” He held the cups towards his fellow agent.

“What’s going on?” Felicity questioned.

“Today was your first time out in the field, and it was a big step,” Oliver began. “And since you couldn’t enjoy it before, I thought you might now.” He slid a bottle of wine out of the bag he had been carrying. “I should have bought a screw-top though, because I don’t have a corkscrew.”

“Give me that,” Diggle said, snatching the bottle from Oliver after he set the cups down. He flipped a blade out of his pocket and drove it directly into the cork, pulling it out with a satisfying plop.

“You’re going to have to teach me how to do that,” Felicity said, in awe of Diggle’s party trick.

Diggle handed her a cup. “Queen’s right. You handled yourself pretty well. Except maybe when you were propositioned for a three-way.” He chuckled as Felicity sputtered on her sip of wine.

Oliver held up his cup. “You were pretty remarkable out there. Honestly, I wouldn’t have given a second look at that girl’s hand. Here’s to future missions.” The trio clinked their plastic cups together.

Felicity sat down on the edge of the fountain, taking another sip of the red wine. It was a sobering thought to know that this was just the first of many adventures she could have with these two. She looked up at the guys. Oliver was now giving Diggle a hard time for his red plastic cups, while Diggle just rolled his eyes.

Felicity thought back on the night they had had. A sudden thought sprang to mind. “Oliver, I’ve been meaning to ask,” she cut in. “Where did you learn to dance like that?”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments/feedback appreciated! :)


End file.
